Impact of Organisational Structure on Organisational Performance
Chapter - 1 Theoretical Frame Work of Different Styles of...
Transcript of Chapter - 1 Theoretical Frame Work of Different Styles of...
Chapter - 1
Theoretical Frame Work of Different Styles of Management
In the introduction we have discussed and felt the need of a
correct management style in an industry or organisation. We have
reviewed existing literature extensively and objectives of the study have
been worked out. Based on the objectives of the study the hypotheses
have been formulated and methods to evaluate the hypotheses were
selected. In this chapter we present the theoretical frame work of
different management styles practiced in industries and organisations in
the environment.
The concept of style is usually connected with literary writings.
The word style comes from the Latin word ‘stilus’, the pointed iron or
bone instrument used by Romans to write on their warren tablets. Style
is now defined as, “any distinctive, and therefore, recognizable, way in
which an act is performed and made”1. Management style refers to the
manager’s way of handling specific aspects of his role performance
criterion, responsibilities and relationships with people2. Oxford English
Dictionary covers almost three columns to define the word style.
According to dictionary meaning, the term style can be used in multiple
1 David, L. Sills. (1968). International Encyclopaedia of the Social Sciences Vol 15. The
Mac Million Co and the Free Press. P. 352. 2 Hafiz Uddin. (1973). Management Styles in India. Ram Prasad and Sons. Agra. P. 4.
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senses: Specific or characteristic manner of expression, execution,
construction or design in any art, period and work environment; the way
in which any thing is made or done; the last phrase comes close to the
sense in which ‘style’ is generally used in management literature. Style
in the context of management, therefore, is defined as the way in which
managing is done.
Management is a distinct process consisting of activities of
planning, organising, actuating and controlling, performed to determine
and accomplish stated objectives with the use of human beings and other
resources. A man who knows only the skills and techniques without
understanding the fundamentals of management is not a manager, is at
best an artisan. Management is a practice3. Management style is an
integrative concept that covers both the content of management decision
making and the process of decision making. Decision making involves
setting of goals, policies, functions, etc. The process of decision making
is one of the combinations of authoritarian verses participative,
bureaucratic verses organic styles of management. A bad style can badly
handicap an organisation while a good style can lift an organisation to
excellence.
3 George, R. Terry and Stephen, G. Franklin.(1987). Principles of Management. 8th Edition.
P.4.
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A management has to decide not only which goals should be
pursued but also to what extent and also what trade - offs need to be
made between competing goals. The management has also to shape the
operating environment so that it is more congenial to the organisation.
Management inspires and motivates members of the staff for superior
performance, takes care of the interests of various share holders in the
organisation, such as labour unions, bankers, suppliers, clients and
Government agencies, so that they continue to support the organisation
and cultivates a favourable image of the organisation in order to build up
a general good will.
Managing an industry or an organisation is not an easy job. A
single decision maker has to bear far too many dimensions in his or her
mind for continuous success. A wide range of expertise needs to be
availed of by the management to be able to take even reasonably good
decisions. Inevitably management becomes a group effort. This
generates its own dynamics within the ranks of management, such as
differences of opinion, selective perception, and struggle for power and
communication difficulties. These dynamics, along with the objectives
of the organisation, the operating context and key choices in the past
give rise to a distinctive management culture. This distinctive culture is
the ‘Style of Management’.
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The way in which any business is managed is often described as
the style of management. Managers of business enterprises, it may be
contended, adopt styles which they consider appropriate in respective
roles. One can think of a variety of management styles in the diversity of
managerial personalities and environment. The ideology and style of top
management may be regarded as a strategic variable which influences
the designing of organisations. What the top management prefers to be
carried into organisational practice manifests itself as the management
style prevalent in the organisation. The philosophy and style of top
management are likely to be supported and maintained to the extent that
organisational members down the line in the hierarchy accept and follow
them. The acceptance of top management attitudes, beliefs, philosophies
and the styles by middle managers depends, however, on a number of
variables. Even then, the top management values and practices are
recognized to have a dominant influence on the organisational system as
a whole. The top management thus becomes a source of guidance and
sets examples for the entire organisation to recognise and emulate.
Why are the styles of management so important? Direction of
activities in the organisation is effected by the manager. A good
manager is necessary for:
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(a) Motivating Employees: Motivation is necessary for work
performance. A good manager by exercising his management skills
motivates the employees for high performance. Motivation refers to a
dynamic working force which emanates from within. It is an inner
striving condition which activates or moves individual into action and
continues him in the course of action enthusiastically. Managers by
definition are required to work with and through people; so they must
get at least some fundamental understanding of the forces that motivate
the people that they are to manage. Motivation could be defined as an
inner state of activities, energizes or moves behaviour towards goal.
Rensis Likert (1961)4
has termed motivation as the core of
management. Motivation is an important function performed by a
manager for actuating the people to work for the accomplishment of
organisational objectives. Effective motivation succeeds not only in
having an order accepted but also in gaining a determination to see that
it is executed efficiently and effectively
(b) Creating Confidence: A good manager may create confidence in
his followers by directing them, giving them advice & getting through
them good results in the organisation. The manager thus enables his
4 Rensis, Likert. (1961). New Patterns of Management. McGraw-Hill. New York.
PP. 137-138.
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followers to perform their tasks with surety and this increases their
output efficiency. The manager can infuse confidence by backing up his
followers whenever required by them. The manager also increases
confidence by making sure that he is consistent in his management
styles and decision making processes.
(c) Building Morale: Morale is the degree of enthusiasm and
willingness with which the members of a group pull together to achieve
group’s goal.5 High morale leads to high productivity and organisational
stability. Through providing good management in the organisation, the
employees morale can be raised high and in-turn ensure high
productivity and stability in the organisation.
Daniel Katz and Robert Kahn (1978)6 have given the following
four reasons that even a mature industry or organisation cannot work
without a manager. The reasons are the incompleteness of formal
organisational design, changing environment conditions, the internal
dynamics of the organisation and the nature of human membership in
organisations. A manager should have specific skills for achieving
excellent results in managing the organisation and motivating his
followers to achieve the required results. Leadership style is a part of
5 Keith, Davis. (1975). Human Behaviour at Work. Tata McGraw-Hill. New Delhi. P. 22.
6 Katz, D., and Kahn, R.L. (1978). The Social Psychology of Organisation. John Wiley and
Sons. Inc. New York. PP. 99-110.
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management style. Leadership is the projection of personality - that
combination of persuasion, compulsion and examples that make other
people do what you want them to do7. Industry must find out natural
leaders, train them in the techniques of management and give them an
opportunity to lead. Leadership style is the ability of one person to
influence others to cooperate and contribute to the pursuit of excellence
of organisational objectives. Persons in different leadership positions
engage themselves in specific behaviours. Leadership style means the
behaviour of the manager towards his followers. It is the way in which
the manager uses his influence to achieve the objectives of the
organisation. Effective leadership behaviour will inspire and stimulate
the employees so that they can enjoy a high level of morale, are
motivated to receive new ideas and are always ready to venture into new
goals. Leadership is an integral part of management and is clearly
connected with understanding organisational behaviour, communication
and motivation. The behaviour of a manager is the inspiring force that
generates healthy climate, high morale and motivation for the receptivity
of new ideas for taking the industry or organisation to higher and still
higher places.
7 Jit S Chandan. (1994). Organisational Behaviour.Vikas Publishing House Pvt Ltd. New
Delhi. P 126.
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Most of the managers (business leaders) do have a predominant
or core style, the one they feel fits them or they are most comfortable
with. They will use this style most of the time. However, few managers
vary their style to fit varying circumstances or with different people.
Management should be viewed as a more broad based activity than
leadership. Management involves more than people. It includes
decisions and actions related to finance, materials, markets,
technological advancements, information processes, and so on. When
comparing with management, leadership triggers or activates the people
who will use the money, process the materials, and operate the
equipments and so on. Therefore, the manager has to be effective and
has to perform other managerial roles including interpersonal roles as a
figure head and liaison man for the industries and organisations,
informational roles as a monitor and disseminator of information and as
a spokesman for the industry or organisation and decisional roles as an
entrepreneur, disturbance handler, resource assigner as well as
negotiator8.
Thus, the direction of activities in the industry or organisation is
affected by the manager. For the effective handling of the managerial
aspects involved in an industry or organisation an efficient manager is
8 Henry Mintzberg. (1973). The Nature of Managerial Work. Harpen & Row. New York.
PP. 135-137.
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most essential. Based on the researches various key functions are
identified which are to be performed by, modern managers9 . These are
planning, organising, supervising, coordinating, controlling,
communicating, investigating, evaluating, decision making, staffing,
representing and negotiating. Leading is therefore only one managerial
function. Thus the management style should not be equated with the
leadership style, although the latter is included in the former and forms a
major part of any management style. If the leadership style is defined as
the way people are managed; then the management style should be
viewed as the way a manager performs all his roles or functions to
achieve organisational objectives. Thus by implication, management
style means a method whereby the organisation’s resources of men,
money, materials, machines and time are systematically organised to
achieve the best possible results10
.
Management style may also be distinguished from organisational
styles. When individual managers adopt varying ways of responses to
the nature of their jobs and the demands of the given environment, these
ways are called the management styles. These styles may also result
from varying the nature of managerial personnel including their
9 John, B. Miner. (1978). The Management Process. Theory Research and Practice. Mac
Million. New York. PP. 318-320. 10
KKK. (1981). Style of Management. Economic Times, New Delhi. P. 8.
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behaviours, predispositions, motives, attitudes and values11
. When the
managerial styles coalesce and distil into a meaningful pattern at the
upper levels of an organisation, this pattern can be called the
organisational style of the organisation12
.
Thus the Management style, in this sense, refers to the personal
style of the individual managers whereas organisational style means the
style of management of the team as a whole primarily at the top level.
Management style develops from practice although managerial beliefs
and theories provide the sense of direction to practice. Managerial style
is just another name for behaviour13
. The concept of the Management
style is also linked with Leadership style. Management style is a
combination of characteristics that indicates what a person is, influences
the things he does and controls the effectiveness with which he does
them14
.
According to Marvin Bower (1973)15
the management styles is
the way, we do things around here and he further states that, “the style
11
George, A. Steiner and John, B. Miner. (1977). Management Policy and Strategy. Mac
Million Publishing Company. New York. P. 75. 12
George, A. Steiner and John, B. Miner. (1977). Management Policy and Strategy. Mac
Million Publishing Company. New York. P. 79. 13
Mathur, A.B. (1973). Managerial Effectiveness- The concept of a Style. In Sarien, R.G.
(Ed). (1973). Management Styles in India. Ram Prasad and Sons. Agra. P. 123. 14
Henry, O. Golightly. (1977). Managing with style – making it work for you. American
Management Association. New York. 11. P. 11. 15
Marvin Bower. (1973). Corporate Leaders for the Year 2000-in William H Newman (Ed).
Managers for the year 2000.Prentice Hall. New Jerssey. PP. 388-390.
62
of managing is an all- prevailing, continuously operating force that
determines whether the company provides future leaders”. Management
style is also linked with the management ideology.
Khandwalla (1977)16
has characterized ideology as the invisible
network of values, beliefs and norms that govern management
behaviour. While these elements of ideology are invisible, the visible,
operating manifestation of ideology is said to constitute the management
style.
Management style takes place by programming behaviour
through instinct and by functional specialization. A management has to
decide not only which goals should be pursued but also to what extent,
and what trade-offs need to be made between competing goals. The way
in which a manager characteristically conducts his dealings with his
subordinates have been called management style17
.Since the
management is defined as getting things done through and with the
people, the manner in which the manager deals with people is his style18
.
The reason why style is defined in this manner is that non human
resources like money, machines, materials, information or computer
16
Pradeep, N. Khandwala. (1977). The design of organisation. Harcourt Brace. Jovanovich.
USA. PP. 118-120 17
Derek French & Heather Saward. (1983). Dictionary of Management. Gower Publishing
Co Ltd. P. 267. 18
Sidharth Ganguli. (1980). Executive Styles in Capital. PP. 19-20.
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methods and techniques cannot be utilized and converted into desired
output except with the help of people. If the people are important, the
approach adopted by management in decision making, motivating staff,
and delegating authority, communicating information and maintaining
control becomes equally important. It is this approach which is termed
as the management style19
.
Management style in most well run organisations is characterised
by openness, flexibility and informality. There is little emphasis on
seniority and hierarchy, and individual initiative is usually admired and
encouraged. Employees are treated as internal customers and customer-
care and quality-assurance programmes are designed to look after the
needs of the internal customers also proactively. The management
philosophy is not based on traditional principles of direction and control.
Instead it focuses on consensus and commitment. The focus is on the
individual, not the union; employee relations, not on union-
management relations; and information sharing and involvement, not
bargaining and power play. There is a movement towards reduction of
hierarchical levels to make these organisations flatter. Lack of hierarchy
could increase a sense of equality within the industry or organisation.
19
Hano Johannsen and Terry Page, G. International Dictionary of Management. Kogan
Page Ltd. P. 218
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This will thus increase the sense of ownership and belonging within the
industry or organisation. Managerial positions may soon be replaced by
coordinators with greater emphasis upon peer level human net working
which is considered as an important pre requisite for handling the fifth
generation information technologies.
Thus the new generation high tech industry or organisations are
poised to become more Democratic in structure and the style of
functioning within the framework of a company form of the
organisation20
. Management style is a term that refers to the nature of
the relationship between the managers and the non managerial
employees. It includes not only the personal relationship between the
individuals within the organisation or industry but also the style of
communication and the attitudes that the managers have for and in front
of the employees and the attitude that they generate within the
employees. The term ‘leadership’ is some times used to connote the
major role to be played by a manager inside an industry or organisation.
This refers to the ways in which the managers achieve and affect the
attitudes and actions of their employees. Usually the actions desired are
those which lead to the achievement of organisational objectives. Forms
20
Venkata Raman, C.S.(1992). Managing People: Strategies’ for Success. Global Business
Press. New Delhi. PP. 68-75.
65
of leadership therefore form a major constituent of the various styles of
management.
Managers can foster commitment only by keeping employees
happy and the key to ensuring happiness understands what they want
from work. Maintaining employee morale and the commitment should
be a key deciding factor as to which the management style which
managers must adopt. Managers should provide meaningful work,
strong support system, and sense of empowerment, open communication
and feeling of involvement to the employees.
Meaningful work - Employee dedication thrives on a holistic
work atmosphere marked with challenging assignments, assistance in
completing work, training opportunities and career development.
Organisations should go a step ahead and transform ‘just any job’ to
a rewarding career path, thus fostering buoyant excitement and
motivation all around.
Strong support system - Assisting employees in their plans,
developing their ideas, supporting them in attaining personal goals
and collaborating efforts to help them to succeed and can make all
the difference in the world. It not only inspires trust and respect in
management, but also inculcates the drive to achieve industrial or
organisational objectives.
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Sense of empowerment - Nothing can boost die-hard
commitment as much as a confidence in employees’ abilities and
worth. Managers should demonstrate this belief by delegating
important tasks and functions to qualified personnel and thus giving
them a chance to shine and bestowing credence in their value.
Results are achieved not because of the perfect strategy or knowing
how to give orders, but when the people feel empowered to do their
very best.
Open communication - Managers can fine-tune loyalty levels by
keeping their workforce informed about business goals, direction and
strategies. Opening the channels of communication involves
thoughtfully listening to staff contributions and explaining the
rationale behind various decisions.
Executives should meet regularly with employees (say, once a
week or a month) to discuss choices, seek input and enquire about
individual problems, requests and job satisfaction and career goals.
Tell them how sales are going, how customers are reacting, what
problem areas have surfaced and about overall company
performance. Getting them to understand and embrace ideas along
with the chance to be heard will foster zealous adherence, active
participation and a strong team spirit.
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Feeling of involvement - Every employee yearns to feel like an
integral part of the industry or the organisations. Employers can
impart this by soliciting staff opinions and ideas on varied issues like
improving productivity, solving problems; increasing customer
satisfaction and helping the industry to grow. They should engage
employees in shaping industries’ vision; ask questions about their
difficulties and implement appropriate suggestions wherever
possible. This inclusiveness can go a long way in building respect
and trust in management.
Sensible appreciation – last but not the least, timely
acknowledgment is a much-coveted requirement. Employers should
make it a point to recognise achievements with a public pat-on-the-
back, monetary reward, pay raise or benefits. Find the most
appropriate ways to say ‘thank you’ for employee efforts and
contributions-at times, even a smile of gratitude can work wonders.
Furthermore, strive to inculcate a sense of pride in ‘my industry
or organisation’ as with pride comes loyalty and such employees will
stick around through thick and thin. It can be summed up best with,
“When an employee’s sense of being valued and belonging exceeds
expectations, that employee is nearly seven times as likely to strongly
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recommend the industry or organisation as one of the best places to
work”21
.
Empathy is one thing which enables perception as nearly
accurately as possible. It is the persons understanding and sensitivity to
the feelings, thoughts and situation of others. This is again dependent on
attitude. Attitude is defined as mental status developed through
experience, which exerts an active influence depending upon response to
conditions and circumstances. Having an attitude means existence of an
object towards which it is directed. Attitudes again depend on the
effective component belief. This again is a factor depending not only on
the individual but also on the circumstances and environments. The task
significance does play a role in attitude change. Task significance is the
degree to which a job has substantial impact on the lives or work of
others or the impact on the task has on the organisation’s future.
Autonomy also plays a role in task significance. All these added to the
value of work culture give the net resultant effective behaviour of a
person in an organisation. Therefore,
Attitude + Value = Effective Behaviour.
21
Bhagoliwala, P. N. (1999). Personal Management and Industrial Relations. Sahitya
Bhavan Publications. Agra. P. 529.
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Attitudes are generally internal and inherent. Altering
organisational structure may bring in complex factors in individuals and
results in ego clashes in groups. In adding value to attitudes, culture
plays a vital role. Culture is the way of life of people in their
surroundings. It consists of conventional pattern of thoughts and
behaviour including values, beliefs, and rules of conduct, political
organisation and economic activity. Culture provides the principles for
explaining and understanding human behaviour. It is one of the
distinguishing elements of social thought. Thought is the full extent of
its influence on behaviour. Thought and perception are yet to be gauged
with reference to the managerial effectiveness. Culture plays a vital role
and it is indisputable when we see the distinguishing difference in
managerial functioning.
Culture + Value + Personality + Attitudes = Management Excellence.
Personality, culture, ethics, values add up to provide an
organisation with effective and efficient managerial functioning. Lack of
above four attitudes cause managerial obsolescence in an industry or
organisation. Management is a profession and process but professional
management is a concept and depends on the collective behaviour
within an organisation or industry. This again is dependent on the
perception.
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The style is the man himself. Style is said to be the cornerstone of
our knowledge of human behaviour. Style means the mode of
expression, execution, action and bearing generally. It mirrors a person’s
inner-self, his beliefs, values, sentiments and feelings that are his total
personality. It denotes the behaviour pattern of a person in relation to his
environment. It is also an overt expression of an individual’s self–
concept and his intra personal and inter-personal relationships22
. In this
sense, everybody should be having a style – whether one notices it or
not. As such style is very much an individual factor – it makes the
performers what they are and helps them to excel in their respective
fields23
.
“A man’s Style”, said Maurice Valency, is intrinsic and private
with him like voice or his gesture, partly a mater of inheritance. It is
more than a pattern of expression. It is the pattern of soul24
. In
management too; the personal style of functioning is an important
dimension of overall managerial behaviour. Therefore understanding the
style of a manager can be very useful for judging his personality and
behaviour. Golightly has gone to the extent of saying that style is a
22
Sarien, R.G.Managers in Search for a Style. In R G Sarien. Op. cit. P. 13. 23
Siddhartha Ganguli. (1980). Executive Styles in Captial. PP. 19-20. 24
Henry, O. Golightly. (1977). Managing with Style- Making it Work for you. American
Management Association, New York. PP. 10-11.
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source of fun and joy. ‘Style and variations in style’, he says, makes
management an interesting and divesting practice, without it,
management would be a dull business, lacking vitality, individuality and
the human touch25
.
Managers tend to adopt different styles because each manager
brings to the job his own particular blend of management traits, which
add up to his style26
. Most practising managers are found to use various
combinations of style instead of following one particular style.
Researches have also revealed that style – the personal styles of
individuals and the collective style of an industry or organisation-makes
significant contribution towards causing individual and collective
effectiveness of management. Style is not in itself a management skill
but it conditions the ways in which management skills are exercised and
utilized.
Siddhartha Ganguli27
has put it as the tools and techniques of
management - the ‘hardware’ content, the scientific part, could be
acquired and applied by anyone provided he has the necessary
background and training. But the management ‘software’- the artistic
25
Henry, O. Golightly. (1980). Managing with Style- Making it Work for you. American
Management Association. New York. P. 72. 26
Henry, O. Golightly. (1980). Managing with Style- Making it Work for you. American
Management Association. New York. PP. 20-21. 27
Siddhartha Ganguli. (1980). Executive Styles in Captial.19-20.
72
part of executive function- is less easy to acquire and calls for certain
basic skills. This artistic part is what is called the management style.
The determinants of management style and the impact of
management style are the two important questions in this respect. These
questions are what are the determinants of management style and what
is the impact of particular management styles on managerial
effectiveness? A survey of numerous studies leads one only to general
observation that style is a dynamic concept and a particular style
followed by the management is the result of interactions among a
multitude of variables.
From the studies of Mahoney et al (1965)28
, it has been found
that higher level executives have a tendency to concentrate their time
and effort on certain functions at the expense of others. For instance, as
compared to lower level managers, the top managers spend more time
on planning than on other functions. Findings of the above studies do
reveal that policy considerations are often of prime importance in top
management’s scheme of functioning basically due to job requirements.
28
Mahoney, Thomas. A. et al. (1963, 1965). Development of Managerial Performance- a
Research Approach. South western Cinunnati and Jobs Management in Industrial
Relations. PP. 46-51.
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Similarly, Heller (1971)29
has found that the managers in the
personal and general management functions use less centralized decision
making styles than their counterparts in the finance and production
functions. The purchase stores and sales functions have the middle
position. Managerial style therefore is determined by the kind of
managerial functions performed. Researches in the area have added
certain other functions like investigating, decision making, representing,
negotiating and so on, which plays a central role in managerial work.
The style of a manager is the result of multiple interacting
variables. These have been highlighted by Mc Gregor, (1967)30
, who
identified five such variables. These variables are attitudes, knowledge,
skills and capabilities of organisation members, nature of task and
technology, organisation structure, skills, capabilities and other
attributes of the manager and environmental variables in the larger
organisational system and society. The management styles in our
environment seemed to differ sharply according to the type of industry.
Firstly, styles differ widely due to organisations’ difference in terms of
their type, purpose, size, operating environment, history etc. Given this
diversity it would hardly be possible for all industries or organisations to
29
Heller, Frank, A. (1971). Managerial Decision Making: A Study of Leadership Styles &
Power Sharing among Senior Managers. Tavistock Publishers. London. PP. 77-80. 30
Mc Gregor. (1967). Professional Manager. McGraw-Hill Publication. PP. 119-120.
74
be managed in the same way, although in authoritarian societies an
attempt is made to improve a uniform management style. Secondly,
styles differ because it is possible to manage organisations in different
ways. Over the years, many of the management functions to be
performed have been identified. There were sharp differences between
the business groups, but also between enterprises belonging to the same
business group.
Managements have a choice in the way they perform such
functions as setting of goals, developing an organisational structure,
staffing, controlling performance, coordinating independent activities,
motivating staff, dealing with various stake holders, building an image
for the organisation, or managing the external environment. The unique
compulsions of each industry’s or organisation’s situation and the
availability of operating alternatives combine to breed a distinctive
management style for each sizeable organisation31
.
A management style, it was noted earlier, is a distinctive way in
which the above mentioned points and other management functions are
performed. Given the many choices in the performance of each
management function, an almost limitless number of management styles
can be visualized. In reality, however, one encounters far fewer styles.
31
Bhattacharya, S.K. (1989). Achieving Managerial Excellence. Mac Million. Delhi. P. 28.
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This is because styles tend to be internally coherent. If a management
chooses to coordinate activities in a participative manner, it is also likely
to choose to set goals, develop strategies, control operations etc.,
participative rather than an authoritarian manner. Styles tend to
crystallize around major management convictions and commitments.
That is, their cores tend to be ideological in character and commitment
to core management ideology of risk–taking in business or conversation,
professionalism in hiring staff or intuitive choices, flexibility in
administration or mechanical efficiency and so on is likely to shape the
rest of the style32
.These commitments are not randomly generated nor
are they exclusively the commitments of the person who happens to be
the chief executive, although undoubtedly the chief executive usually
does play a significant role in the evolution of a style of management.
The style evolved has to be viable, that is, it has to be able to measure up
to real-life situations33
.
32
Weiek, K. (1969). The Social Psychology of Organising. Reading Mass. Addision –
Wesley. PP. 44-48. 33
Salanick, G. R. and Pfeffer, J. (1978). A Social Information Processing Approach to Job
Attitudes and Task Design. Administrative Science Quarterly. 23. PP. 224-253.
76
Social processes within the ranks of management, such as
information and experience sharing, advocacy of points of view,
political deals and so forth, also play a good part34
.
Managerial ethos is concerned with the character and values of
managers as a professional group. By ethos we mean habitual character
and values of Individual groups and races. Autonomy, equity, security
growth and opportunity are some of the specific values which affect the
working of the present day managers. The work value is also an
important element which influences the style of working of managers.
The work value is the worth a person ascribes to the opportunity of
work.
On the foregoing discussions it is required to highlight about the
various Management styles practiced in industries or organisations.
Various styles are practiced for the administration of organisations and
industries and this variety is often encountered in real life. From the
working definitions of these styles, it would be possible to study how
closely real life styles resemble these ideals. What the consequences are
of practicing styles that closely resemble these ideal styles verses the
consequences of practicing styles are remote from ideal type of styles.
34
Child, J. (1972). Organisational Structure, Environment and performance: The Role of
Strategic Choice. Sociology. 6. P. 22.
77
Important styles followed or practiced from the past in industries or
organisations are enumerated below:-
Conservative Style: Conservation is a rule of life in general. The
essence of conservation is conservation of whatever has worked in the
past and has demonstrated survival value. The principle of survival is at
the core of the conservative style of management. The pure conservative
style was defined as a cautious one-step at a time approach to problems.
The decisions become generally compromised between the conflicting
demands of the board, unions, government, managers and the customers.
Precedents and traditions are given importance. The primary concern is
with stability and steady growth. The defect of this style is that it sticks
to traditional ways of operating even when there have been very harmful
consequences. Such a style is not that suited for today’s fast paced and
dynamic corporate environment.
Entrepreneurial Style: This style of management is sharply
contrasting to the conservative style. Style facilitates conquest and the
unfolding of opportunities for growth. The entrepreneurial style has
emerged from the spirit of adventure, probing and innovation. Through
initiative and innovation, entrepreneurship not only creates new
industries, it also opens up new markets and transforms old and mature
industries. In this style there is an active search for big and new
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opportunities. The style is also characterised by large, bold, sweeping
decisions, despite the uncertainty of its outcome; a forceful leader at the
top holding great power. The main ingredient of entrepreneurial style is
that the major organisational goal is rapid organisational growth.
Professional Management Style: Professionalism implies
attributes, such as; scientific development of a high level expertise
pertinent to the organisational occupation. A relatively standardized
high level of professional management can also get excessively fixated
on text book practices, tools and techniques and thus blocking out
improvisation and experimentalism. Professional management style is a
systematic research for growth opportunities and systematic anticipation
of problems through formal forecasts. A systematic consideration of the
costs and benefits of the various alternatives and a carefully coordinated
formalized top management strategy are required. The emphasis here is
on long term planning. In professional management, a control and
information system and the extensive use of expertise and all pervasive
research are required before making decisions. The management
believes in having only highly qualified persons, with advanced
technical or professional degrees take all the decisions. This necessitates
high human capital expenditure for employing these highly qualified
managers. There are an enormous number of costly staff departments
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manned by these experts. There is very little cooperation between these
departments or between line and staff departments, while there is
apparently a sophisticated planning of activities, more often than
unrealistic assumptions.
Intuitive Style: This style is contrary to the professional style of
management. Intuition means knowing something despite having little
or no information. Intuition is quick inference based on thumb rules
learnt during previous experience, quick judgement and conclusions
arrived at subconsciously. In intuitive management there is a sharp
consciousness of the problem at hand but goals are seldom formally
articulated – they sort or float just below the threshold of consciousness
of the decision makers. In the intuitive style of management, a strong
emphasis is on having experienced, executives with a lot of common
sense and with a good and a well honed judgement for making the
decisions even when they do not have necessary paper or academic
qualifications. The decision making process in the intuitive style of
management is much faster in comparison to the analysis intensive
professional management style. The emphasis is on using good rules of
thumb and sound judgement rather than on a lot of formal analysis by
experts. Fear of ‘analysis paralysis’ and distrust of ‘academic’
prescriptions and distrust of any kind of expertise are a fad in the
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management. Decisions are completely ad-hoc and depend entirely on
the whims and fancies of who ever is in charge. There is no attempt to
analyze any issue in depth. Rather, the tendency is to apply the first
surface solution that strikes the decision maker.
Bureaucratic Style: This Management style which is efficient by
programming the behaviour of members rationally. In formal human
organisations this principle, which converts members into robots, has
been greatly elaborated to encompass such mechanisms of programming
behaviour as rules, regulations, standard operating procedures,
formalised language and communications, formalised relations and so
on. Bureaucratic management was defined as a strong emphasis on
smooth functioning by prescribing in writing objectives, procedures,
rules and the powers, duties and responsibilities of the managers and
other staff. The emphasis is on clear reporting relationships, precise job
descriptions, formal communications, strict control and above all,
correctness of procedures and accountability. The bureaucratic style
requires the managers to exert their control on the subordinates and
mandates constant supervision.
Organic Style: Organic style of management was discovered in
1961 and defined as a strong emphasis on the free flow of information
and communication within the organisation. Widespread awareness of
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the organisations goals, problems and business plan of action among the
managers at all levels. There is dislike for paperwork and formalized
procedures and job descriptions. The emphases are on administrative
flexibility, openness, innovation, the importance of the effective
problem solver, and above all on resourcefulness and getting things
done. The management does not believe in any sort of order. There is
really no organisational chart; duties and responsibilities are neither not
defined nor are people clear about whom they are supervising or
reporting to. There are no rules, or even if any are there, everybody
knows that they are meant to be broken. No secrets are kept. Everybody
has access to all information, and nobody believes in storing information
in files.
Familial Style or Paternalistic Style: There is a strong emphasis on
family like relations in the industry or organisation and many important
decision- makers are actually related or belong to the same community.
The emphasis is on close working relationship between the managers.
Senior managers showing a parental concern for their juniors and on the
juniors giving their seniors much loyalty and respect. Responsibility and
duty towards the organisation are strongly emphasized as also the
organisations duty is to look after its employees. The superior–
subordinate relation is feudal, slavish subservience expected by every
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subordinate. One can not get ahead at all without a godfather and
community or familial affiliations in such an organisation. The culture
in such industry or organisation is mostly uni-dimensional. Such a style
lays a great emphasis on loyalty within the managers towards the
organisation and there is a high level of trust among the members.
Altruistic Style: Altruism means concern for the welfare of others,
selflessness and egotism. Altruism has manifested itself in its full
richness among human beings; as enlightened self interest, selfless
service to others, pursuit of ideals, ethics, pursuit of universal
brotherhood, reverence for all life and pursuit of spiritual consciousness.
The management practicing the altruistic style feels that it is a trustee for
the interests of society, owners, customers and employees. In making
decisions the purity of means is emphasized as much as the securing of
business goals. The emphasis is on honesty, a spirit of sacrifice,
commitment to the welfare of others, and dedication to great social
ideals. The management is enamoured of having a good public image, of
being enlightened that it keeps on getting involved with one charitable
social welfare activity after another at the cost of neglecting pressing
internal issues. There is an evident conflict between the business goal of
achieving profit and the social goal of the welfare of the society.
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Free-Rein or Laissez-Faire Style: The Free-Rein (Laissez-Faire)
gives power to the subordinates. The group can develop its own goals
and solve its own problems. Little or no direction is provided by the
management. Free-Rein style gives employees complete freedom to
make decisions. No direct control and everyone get their own way due
to laziness or overworked managers in this style of management. Free
rein management ignores the manager’s contribution. It fails to give the
group the advantages of managers inspired motivation. The manager
completely abdicates his management position, gives all responsibility
and most of the work entrusted to him to the group which he is supposed
to lead, limiting his authority to maintain the contact of the group with
persons outside the group. The Free-Rein manager believes people have
the skills to do a task and can do it without too much direction. The
manager uses power very little, if at all, giving subordinates a high
degree of independence in their operations. Such managers depend
largely on subordinates to set their own goals and means of achieving
them and they see their role as one of aiding factor in the operations of
the followers by furnishing them with information and acting primarily
as contact with the group’s external environment. He is there to support
and participate when needed. The ‘supporting’ style of the Free-Rein
manager is used with the pathfinders and senior branch members,
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recognizing their experience and skills. This style is generally not useful
but can be effective in highly motivated, professional groups.
Autocratic Style of Management: The premise of the Autocratic style
of management is the belief that in most cases the employees can not
make a contribution to their own work and that even if they could they
would not. The natural management style that a manager with this
belief system would favour is the Autocratic management style.
Autocratic managers work to the maximum extent possible. A major
threat to control is complexity; complex jobs are more difficult to learn
and employees who master such jobs are scarce and posses a certain
amount of control over how the job is done. Thus Autocratic managers
attempt to simplify work to gain maximum control, planning of work,
including quality planning is centralized. A strict top-down chain of
command of approach to management is practised. Procedures are
maintained in exquisite detail and enforced by frequent audits. Product
and process are requirements which are recorded in equally fine detail
and in–process and final inspection are used to control quality.
Autocratic managers command and expect compliance, are dogmatic
and positive, and manage by authority to withhold or give rewards and
punishments.
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The nature of the relationship between the managers and non
managerial employees is a term that refers to the Management Style. It
includes not only the personal relationship between the individuals but
also the style of communication and the attitudes that the managers have
towards the employees and the attitude that they generate within
employees. The term ‘leadership’ is some times used and refers to the
ways in which the managers achieve and bring out the attitudes and
actions of their employees. Usually the actions desired are those which
lead to the achievement of organisational objectives. A form of
leadership therefore implies a style of management and Autocratic style
of management is one particular style of management.
Authoritarian Style is a clear division of all staff into those that
give orders and those that take orders, much centralization of power at
the top, punishment of subordinates for disobedience or incompetence.
The emphasis is on unquestioning obedience and strict discipline. In
such a management style management believes in ruling by fear. All
lower level managers and staff members are constantly under a threat of
being fired, punished or side tracked for the slightest deviation from the
often unreasonable wishes of the bosses. The decisions of the bosses are
generally arbitrary and whimsical and often the thought process behind
the decision making is not clear to the employees of the organisation.
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Authoritarian or Autocratic management style relies on
legitimate, coercive and reward power to influence others. The core of
the authoritarian management style is management by dominance The
various other concepts which are an integral part of the authoritarian
management style are - the concept of due process before punishment is
handed down, so that punishment is not seen to be arbitrary, the concept
of discipline and graduated punishment depending on the nature and
seriousness of breach of discipline and the concept of legitimacy which
spells out the conditions under which dominance can be exercised.
The authoritarian style manager is aggressive, parental and
dictatorial in their dealings with the group. Due to its overwhelming
control over the group, the authoritarian approach works well in crisis
and pressure situations as the group will look towards its manager for
answers. However there are some negative aspects to the authoritarian
approach. In certain cases, the group may fail to develop a sense of
ownership of the work accomplished. A constant use of the authoritarian
style can also cause members to be apathetic and unproductive when the
manager’s back is turned. The employees have a lack of sense of
ownership and belonging to the organisation. As a result of this many
times the members of the group are not motivated to do more than what
is necessary. There is also a danger of employees being disoriented
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about the goals of the organisation and trying to bleed the organisation
with their activities.
Autocratic style of management is defined as a management style
where the manager has complete responsibility for the outcome and the
manager has concentrated in him the tool to control and the power to
enforce within the organisation, the definition could be slightly different
depending on the manuscript which one is learning and is sometimes
referred to as antiquated.
The Autocratic management style is based on the use of coercion
as a means of control in an attempt to force the employees to behave in a
particular way. The response of the employees towards such coercion is
seen to be extremely authoritative that is they will do as they are told
because the alternative may be unemployment. Another reaction by an
employee to this Autocratic style is that they might only do the absolute
minimum required of them to retain their jobs. Clearly productivity in
such an organisation will not be very high. Military and law
enforcement organisations historically operate with an Autocratic style
of management. Autocratic style is seen as necessary in the situations in
which the above organisations operate. Acceptance resentment should
not arise because of this, since the Autocratic style is an accepted style
of management in these organisational forms. A hierarchical structure
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indicates an organisation with formal rules and procedures of conduct.
Also it connects with a role culture, which clearly sets out the
hierarchical positions with well defined responsibilities and duties.
Style of management is chosen according to the type of
organisation, it should be chosen to suit the particular situation in a
given organisation. The means of dealing with a disciplinary matter will
differ from that used in a problem–solving situation. The style of
management of routine day to day activities will differ from the
management of project and design activities. Managers must therefore
choose a management style to suit the situation.
An autocratic manager is one who centralizes authority, dictates
work methods, makes unilateral decisions, and limits employee
participation. Here the emphasis is given to the style which is authority–
centred or manager–centred. The manager concentrates all authority and
decision makings powers in him. The two forms of the autocratic
management style are the tough autocratic style and the benevolent
autocratic style.
Autocratic manager believes that his management style is based
on the authority confirmed on him by position. The main characteristics
of Autocratic management style are he makes all the decisions and his
right to lead is derived from his positional authority. He often conceals
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information from his followers in order to maintain his position as the
fountain source of all knowledge and he describes each job in detail and
imposes rigid work standards on his employees.
Autocratic decision making is when the manager maintains total
control and ownership of the decision. Autocratic managers keep the
decision making authority and control in their own hands and assume
full responsibility for all actions. The Autocratic manager makes
decisions alone as power is centralised in one person. Full authority and
responsibility are assumed. Supervision is tight, direct and precise.
Decisions are enforced using rewards and the fear of punishment.
Subordinates do as they are told. Communication tends to be primarily
downward. They structure the entire work in their own way and expect
the workers to follow their orders and tolerate no deviation from their
orders. The manager is also completely responsible for the good or bad
outcome as a result of the decision. The manager does not ask for any
suggestions or ideas from outside sources and functions from his own
internal information and perception of the situation. Advantages include
a very fast decision making approach and prevalent sense of personal
responsibility of the manager towards the outcome. If an emergency
situation exists, the Autocratic style is the best choice. The
disadvantages of such a management style are varied and sometimes
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include less than desired effort from the people that must carry out the
decision. If the employee is personally affected by the decision but not
included when the decision is made, morale and effort may or may not
suffer. It is not always predictable. If the outcome for the decision is not
positive, members of the organisation begin to feel they could have done
a better job themselves and the manager may lose credibility.
The Autocratic manager may adopt the benevolent Autocratic
management style. In such a scenario the subordinates are dealt with
effectively and may achieve security and satisfaction. A benevolent
autocrat may simply give orders, demand loyalty and may make
subordinates feel they are actually participating in the decisions even
though they are doing what the boss wants.
Autocratic managers keep the decision making authority and
control in their own hands and assume full responsibility for all actions.
They structure the entire work situation in their own way and expect the
workers to follow their orders and tolerate no deviation from their
orders. The subordinates are required to implement instructions of their
managers without questioning. They are entirely dependent on their
managers and the output suffers in the absence of the manager. The
autocratic management style ranges from tough and highly dictatorial to
paternalistic, depending upon whether the manager’s motivational
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approach is threat and punishment or appreciation and reward. In highly
autocratic situations, the subordinates develop a sense of insecurity,
frustration, low morale and they are involved to avoid responsibility,
initiative and innovative behaviour.
Democratic Styles :It is believed that the human beings are
entirely constituted by their social relationships- this belief rendered him
and his successors incapable of recognizing the distinctiveness and
independence of the individual person. The original idea of democratic
socialism, that freedom must be guaranteed to all people in all walks of
life, has time and again come up. The right of the people to have self–
determination regarding work, the right of the society to participate in
decision–making with regards to economic development and effective
checks on power- all these exclude the monopoly of the state over the
means of production as well as the arbitrariness of private ownership.
Democratic socialism involves discussion of the dignity of man, his
right not to be pushed around by others, his right to his own
individuality and self–determination. The opportunity for democratic
socialism to prove itself to be a credible alternative, globally, rests not
on political appeal but rather on presenting economic, ecological,
security policy based cultural programmes, which identify clearly what
social prerequisites must be secured in order that all are able to enjoy a
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large degree of individual freedom. A democratic setup is a practical
necessity in our industries.
Democratisation is important to place the common people in
effective control of the mechanism of modern economic life; it must
give the individual a chance to express one’s judgement in influencing
the affairs and destinies of the enterprise where the person has invested
capital and labour. Truly democratic structures are not pre-designed.
They are self designed by their members. Two distinct developments in
1980, point to the emergence of democratic forms of organisation and
control. They relate to the growth of high tech industries and the
phenomenon of employee ownership. Democratic industries or
organisations are based on the principle of equality ownership rather
than joint ownership.
Democratic decision making is when the manager gives up
ownership and control of a decision and allows the group to vote.
Majority vote will decide the action. Advantages include a fairly fast
decision, and a certain amount of group participation. An individual is
not responsible for the outcome. In fact, even the group feels no real
responsibility because some members will say, ‘I didn’t vote for that’.
Lack of group and personal responsibility seems to disqualify this style
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of decision making; however, the democratic style does have its place in
business.
Democratic or Participative manager35
consults the group on
questions of interest to them and to which they can contribute.
Communications flow freely and suggestions are made in both
directions. The democratic manager identifies the problem and gives the
group a chance to influence the decision from the beginning. He
presents a problem and the relevant background and then asks the
members for ideas to solve it.
The manager then incorporates their ideas as much as possible for
making a final decision. Some decision making responsibilities still
belong with the manager. Subordinates participate in goal setting and
problem solving. This participation encourages member commitment to
the final decision. The members also develop a sense of ownership
towards the set goals in such an environment. The democratic manager
creates a situation by which individuals can learn, enables people to
check their own performance, allows subordinates to set challenging
goals, provides opportunities for improved work methods and job
growth and recognizes achievements and helps employees learn from
35
Timpe and Dale, A. (1992). The Art and Science of Business. Jaico Publishing House.
Bombay. PP. 1-10.
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errors. Democratic style of management does not mean management by
committee or making decisions by democratic voting, it means
involving people in some aspects of running of the industry or
organisation.
The basic premise of the participatory management style is the
belief that the employee can make a contribution to the design of their
own work. The belief system that leads managers to this conclusion was
put forth as a management theory by Mc Gregor which advocates the
belief that the employee’s are internally motivated. They take
satisfaction in their work; and would like to perform at their best.
Symptoms of indifference are a result of modern workplace, which
restricts what an employee can do and separates him from the final
result of his efforts. It is the managements’ job to change the workplace
so that the employee can once again recapture his pride of workmanship.
Managers who practice the participatory style of management tend to
encourage employees in certain types of behaviour. To encourage the
employees they establish and communicate the purpose and direction of
the organisation. This is used to help develop a shared vision of what the
organisation should be, which is used to develop a set of shared plans
for achieving the vision. The managers’ role is that of a leader. By his
actions and words he shows the way to his employees. He is also a
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coach; evaluating the result of his people’s efforts and helping them to
use the result to improve the organisation’s systems and the organisation
as a whole. Democratic managers, share the decision making process
under Democratic management. Members of the group tend to be more
satisfied and less frustrated because they all play a part in the decision
making process. Although the designated manager will still make the
final decision, group members feel more validated if their ideas are
considered and they are usually more motivated to implement the
decision. The members feel a closer association with the decision taken
as their views were also taken into consideration in the decision making
process. Unlike an Autocratic manager who controls through authority
he possesses, a Participative manager exercises control mostly by using
forces within the group.
Participative management or employee involvement is a
democratic philosophy that respects all members of an organisation as
an infinite resource able to contribute knowledge and creativity to
improving the organisations ability to survive. In employee’s
participation management (EPM) 36
, the keyword is participation and the
36
Gopalakrishnan, R. V. (1993). Managing Participation. Discovery Publishing House.
New Delhi. P. 322.
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participatory mechanisms should ensure mental and emotional
involvement of employees-not only via indirect representation through
unions in participative form but also their direct association across
functions and down levels. The labour management relations will have
to cope up with these specific changes in employee expectations - for
more self determination, for more employee rights, for more equitable
earnings, for better security and safety and to achieve and maintain a
better quality of work life.
Participative management requires a management style that
motivates people at all levels of work to accomplish the organisational
mission. When all employees are participating, they are involved in
setting organisational goals, solving problems, making decisions and
planning and implementing changes. Participative management is more
likely to succeed in organisations that develop strong cultural and
structural supports. Organisations with participative commitment to
employee participation at all levels, work autonomy, group problem
solving, high standards, open communication, trust between employees
and management, respect for one another’s knowledge and supportive
relationships. Thus the Participative management style is defined as
joint decision-making or at least shared influence in decision-making by
a superior or manager and his employees.
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Depending on the socio–political environment and cultural
conditions, the scope and contents of participation may change. The
employees’ participation management has been defined as, “the
participation resulting from practices which increase the scope for
employee’s share of influence in decision-making at different tiers of
organisational hierarchy with concomitant assumption of
responsibility”. Employees’ participation may be viewed as an
instrument for increasing the efficiency of enterprises and establishing
harmonious industrial relations, a device for developing social education
for promoting solidarity among employees and for tapping human talent,
a means for achieving industrial peace and harmony which leads to
higher productivity and increased production, a humanitarian act
elevating the status of an employee in the society, an ideological way of
developing self-management and promoting industrial democracy, a
means of mentoring and nurturing managerial talent within the
organisation for its long term benefit and viability and as a tool to
increase the loyalty of the employees to the organisation, thus enabling
long term commitment of the employees with the organisation.
The important objectives of the employees’ participation are to
improve the quality of working life by allowing the employees greater
influence and involvement in work and the satisfaction obtained from
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work and to secure the mutual cooperation of the employees and the
employers in achieving industrial peace, greater efficiency and
productivity in the interest of the enterprise, the employees, the
consumers and the nation.
The above discussions revealed the theoretical frame work and
the need of management styles. The concept and the ingredients of
management styles are also discussed in detail. Based on the foregoing
discussion, an in depth details regarding various management styles
practiced for administration in our country is given. These discussions
lead us to study about the current management styles practiced in
industries of Kerala state. The management styles practiced in our
industries is given in the next chapter.